Why Are Candidates Ghosting Me?
Engaging qualified candidates in a tight job market can be tough. When they are in the IT, Software, or Healthcare space, keeping them engaged can be even tougher. At a recent round-table discussion of Hourglass HR account managers and recruiters we discussed the challenge of ghosting and identified common challenges as well as strategies for overcoming them.
The reality is that even after a positive engagement, candidates may avoid your recruitment outreach or follow up for several reasons. These may include:
Spamming: Some candidates receive a high volume of irrelevant job offers from recruiters and begin to associate all recruiters with spam.
Lack of personalization: Candidates may feel that a recruiter is not taking the time to get to know them and their needs and is simply trying to fill a quota.
Bad experiences: Candidates may have had negative experiences with recruiters in the past, such as recruiters who were unresponsive or made false promises.
Change of Circumstances: A candidate may have received a better job offer from another company, accepted it, and feel awkward about how to communicate this with the recruiter who has been working with them for a number of weeks or months.
Reality Check: With little to lose a candidate may not have been taking the process seriously, or may not have been as qualified as they has claimed in an initial screening.
Staying Connected with Candidates
There are numerous strategies to help you overcome these challenges. Whether recruiting for permanent, temp or contract roles consider taking the following steps in your recruitment process:
Personalize your approach: Take the time to get to know each candidate and understand their unique skills, needs, and career goals. When sending out initial messages, be sure to identify one or two attributes that drew your attention to them.
Be transparent: Be honest and transparent about the job and the company and avoid making false promises. When it comes to salary or other aspects the candidate (or company) considers non-negotiables, try bringing them to light as soon as possible.
Provide value: Provide candidates with helpful resources, such as interview tips or industry insights, to demonstrate your expertise and establish yourself as a valuable resource.
Keep notes: Do not trust your memory! Be sure to use a tool to track notes, schedule future tasks, and be sure to set aside time in your weekly schedule for follow-up.
Circle Back: Keep in touch with candidates even if they are not currently seeking a new job. This will help to build a relationship and position you as a trusted advisor.
Delegate tasks: Many organizations, of all sizes, experience the benefit of outsourcing their preliminary recruitment steps. This can free up HR teams to deploy limited resources more effectively.
Work Quickly: While certain steps of the process may be out of your control, the faster you can collect information, schedule meetings, and facilitate decision making, the better the chance that your candidate will stay engaged.
By taking these steps, recruitment teams can build strong, long-lasting relationships with candidates. If your recruitment team does not have the band-width to address talent needs, consider speaking to us about how Hourglass HR can address your recruitment needs.